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Holly Rachel Vukadinovic (born 11 May 1983), who is better known by her stage name of Holly Valance, is an Australian actress and ARIA nominated singer. Usually blonde and frequently bronzed, Australian-born actress/singer/pin-up girl Holly Valance first caught the attention of television viewers with a regular role on the long running soap opera Neighbours before making a bid for international stardom as a picturesque pop princess. Valance was born in Melbourne, Australia, on 11 May 1983 to a Serbian- Croatian father and a British mother. She is related to the late British comedian Benny Hill, Valance was educated at the Star of the Sea College, a Roman Catholic high school in Melbourne. A Melbourne native whose Serbian father and English mother always encouraged musical development in their children, Valance's brother Ryko is a renowned pianist and composer. Family too played an essential role in the aspiring actresses' childhood, and in between sessions of swimming on the beach and practicing Muay Thai young Valance could frequently be found in the company of her extended family of half brothers and sisters. By the age of twelve Valance was scouted by a prolific modeling agency, and by fifteen she had landed the role of feisty Felicity "Flick" Scully on Neighbours. Though initially hesitant to take the part, a little encouragement from her parents went a long way in launching Valance's acting career and she was soon the most popular character on the program. Valance's first single as a recording artist was a cover of Turkish singer Tarkan's "Kiss Kiss", released in 2002. The song debuted at #1 in both the Australian ARIA and UK Singles Charts charts in April/May 2002. The director's cut version of the music video was notable in that Valance appeared to be dancing naked, but in fact she was wearing flesh colored panties but no top. The footage was then digitally retouched adding strategically placed lighting effects. The song was nominated for 4 ARIA awards. After three years on the small screen, however, Valance was ready to advance to the next stage in her career. In the spring of 2002 Valance was ready to take her love of music to the next level. Her debut single "Kiss Kiss" topped charts all across Europe, with the popular singles "Down Boy" and "Naughty Girl" following in short order. Just one short year after the release of her debut album Footprints, Valance was already preparing her sophomore release State of Mind. Her next single, "Down Boy" peaked at #2 in the UK and at #3 in Australia. Her début album Footprints was released on October 14, 2002. It debuted and peaked at #9 in the UK and #15 in Australia. The album's third and final single "Naughty Girl" peaked at #3 in Australia and at #16 in the UK. In 2003, the first single "State of Mind" from Valance's second album of the same name debuted and peaked at #8 in the UK and at #14 in Australia, but the album didn't get into the top 50 of either country. "Desire" was, according to some rumours, to be the second official single from the album and she even made a few performances for the promotion, but it was cancelled due to poor album sales. Following legal problems with her manager/boyfriend, and poor sales from the album State of Mind, Valance was dropped from her recording company. Though her official website originally reported Valance would release new material via another label, this never materialized, with Valance recently confirming she is no longer interested in recording music, telling Men's Style magazine: "No one can make any money. It was a really tough slog and I had a good go at it, but it was difficult. You put in so much effort and put in so many long hours for not much return. I was making all my money from endorsements and appearances, but I didn't make that much from the actual record sales. I think everyone is suffering in the music industry. It wasn't just me. I do something until it's not fun any more and then move on. Music wasn't fun any more." She signed a £3 million deal with the hair products company Schwarzkopf Live to front the new line aimed at an early teen to early 20s market. Valance was seen modelling Cosmic Blue, Sahara True Blonde, Hypnotic Red as well as XXL dresses and XXL hats (each colour has a strapline which referenced other popular culture artists). The adverts could be seen across the United Kingdom at bus stops, shopping malls, on buses and in magazines. During this time, Valance appeared on Har Mar Superstar's album The Handler singing on tracks "Body Request" and "Back the Camel Up". In 2002, she won the British GQ Award for Woman of the Year. From 1999 to 2002, Valance played the role of Felicity "Flick" Scully on Australian soap Neighbours. Of course Valance was still eager to expand her onscreen career, and what better way to accomplish such an ambitious feat than to relocate to Los Angeles? In 2004 Valance did precisely that. After honing her craft at the renowned Leslie Kahn Dramatic School, appearances in such popular stateside series' as Prison Break, CSI New York, CSI Miami, and the hit HBO series Entourage were quick to follow. Though to this point in her career Valance had been focusing most of her acting ambitions on the small screen, appearances as a kung-fu fighter in DOA and a fun-loving sorority girl in Pledge This! proved that she was eager to break into features as well. In 2004, Valance returned to acting, this time in the United States, appearing in episodes of the television series CSI: Miami, Entourage. In 2005, she appeared in an episode of CSI: NY. She then guest-starred in Prison Break, in 2006, as Nika Volek, a role which she continued to portray in the show's second season. In 2007, she appeared in the TV series Shark and Moonlight. In 2006, Valance appeared in the National Lampoon comedy Pledge This!, alongside American socialite Paris Hilton. The same year, she was in DOA: Dead or Alive, an adaptation of the popular video game Dead or Alive, where she played Christie. In 2008, she had a role in the film Taken alongside Liam Neeson and Famke Janssen. She is currently in talks to appear in the thriller Vauxhall Crossed. In 2003, Valance fired her then-manager Scott Michaelson (who owns Biscayne Partners Pty Ltd) by fax, 15 months before her contract was due to expire. Biscayne Partners Pty. Ltd. sued Valance Corp., won their case and were awarded damages by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. During the trial, Valance's mother claimed that Michaelson was negligent in his duties as a manager, which forced her to take over from his role as manager. Former Neighbours co-star Kym Valentine also gave evidence that Valance "said she was feeling bad, a bit stressed out, because she was leaving Scott" and that "she said the solicitors for her record company would get her out of the contract and would be faxing him the paper work (from the UK) to do so." Valance denied that she told Valentine this conversation in court, even though she had signed an affidavit where she stated she had no recollection of the conversation. Justice Clifford Einstein said, "I have given close consideration to the question of whether or not the circumstances presently before the Court which do, it seems to me, show a calculated disregard of the rights of Biscayne as well as a cynical pursuit of benefit". The court subsequently ordered Valance Corp. pay $350,000 to Biscayne Partners Pty. Ltd. Of this amount, $47,264.56 was "from shares Ms Valance and Mr Michaelson had bought together on the London Stock Exchange", though the court did not award in favour of Biscayne getting a percentage of sales of her album, State of Mind. |
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